OHL Saginaw Spirit

Preview: Spirit Tangle with Wolves in Sudbury Friday

Published on November 23, 2018 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Sudbury Community Arena, home of the Sudbury Wolves
Sudbury Community Arena, home of the Sudbury Wolves
(Saginaw Spirit)

Sudbury, Ontario - The Saginaw Spirit get set for the second of a three-game road trip Friday as they play guest to the Sudbury Wolves. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. (EST) at the Sudbury Community Arena.

Friday will mark the first-of-two regular-season meetings between Saginaw and the OHL Eastern Conference contender. The Spirit swept the season series last year by scoring a combined nine goals in two games.

Through 23 games this season, the Wolves are fifth in the Eastern Conference standings at 28 points. With 13 wins, eight losses, one overtime loss and one shootout loss, Sudbury sits two points behind second place Mississauga Steelheads.

The Wolves dropped a 7-4 loss on Wednesday in the first game of the Bell Challenge Cup series against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. After leading 2-1 just 38 seconds into the second frame, Sudbury allowed four goals over the course of 16 minutes en route to its second straight loss, going 5-3-1-1 in the last 10 games.

Saginaw ended a two-game losing streak on Thanksgiving Day in a 4-3 overtime win to sweep the season series over the North Bay Battalion. 2018 New York Islanders second-round draft pick Bode Wilde would score two goals, including the game-winner, 49 seconds into the overtime period.

Wilde, who returned from injury on November 9, recorded his first multi-goal outing this season after getting the Spirit on the board with 3:30 in the first period at the North Bay Memorial Gardens.

The Plymouth, Michigan, native has notched five goals and 15 assists for 20 points through 17 games this season. Wilde ranks third among all Saginaw players in points behind overager Albert Michnac (23) and veteran forward Cole Coskey (23).

At the time, Michnac's league-leading 13 game points streak came to an end on October 28 in the 5-3 loss to the Sarnia Sting. The forward has scored eight goals and assisted on 15 this year.

Coskey, who celebrated his 50th career goal on November 10 in the 5-3 win over Sault Ste. Marie, has nine goals and 14 assists points this season. The Zion, Illinois native produced his first multi-assist outing on Thursday since October 13.

Detroit Red Wings prospect Brady Gilmour brought the Spirit's deficit to one goal with 8:02 remaining in the third period. Gilmour, selected in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL draft, scored his sixth goal of the year and first since October 27.

Wilde and fellow Islanders prospect Blade Jenkins were credited with the assist off captain Damien Giroux's game-tying goal with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. With the highest plus-minus rating for Saginaw at +6, the 2018 Minnesota Wild fifth-round draft choice has earned one point in four of the last six games.

Rookie Cole Perfetti also finished with one assist in what was his second point since returning to the bench after taking part in the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Saint John and Quispamsis, New Brunswick.

Perfetti led all players in the tournament with seven assists and second in points with nine as a representative of Team Canada White. The Whitby, Ontario, native ranks fourth among all OHL rookies this season with 14 points.

2018 Arizona Coyotes fourth-round selection Ivan Prosvetov stopped 28 shots in his first win in net for Saginaw since November 14. The Russian-born goaltender has a goals against average (GAA) of 3.49 and a .879 save percentage (SAV%).

Thursday's win was the first for Chris Lazary after being promoted to head coach last Sunday following the dismissal of Troy Smith. Lazary took over the position on an interim basis when Smith served as an assistant coach for Team Canada Black at the U-17 Hockey Challenge.

Relieving Smith of his duties came on the heels of back-to-back losses this past weekend. The Spirit fell on the road to the Kitchener Rangers, 5-2, on Friday before scoring just once at home to West Division rival Windsor Spitfires the next day.

On special teams, Saginaw has the eighth best power play in the league, converting 21.8 percent of all man-up opportunities for 17 goals. Penalty killing for the Spirit is seventh, allowing 14 goals for an 81.1 percent success rate, going down a player just 74 times this season which ranks second among all 20 clubs.

Sudbury has seven players sitting at double-digit scoring, led by former 2015 OHL Priority Selection first overall pick David Levin with 21 points on 11 goals and 10 assists. The fourth-year left winger has finished with at least one point in three of the last four games.

Buffalo Sabres goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is fifth in the league with 11 wins through 18 games played. A native of Finland, Luukkonen has a goals against average (GAA) of 2.74 and a .917 save percentage (SAV%).

On special teams, Sudbury is 16th overall in the league in penalty kills, allowing 22 goals for a 78 percent success rate. The Wolves are also 17th on the penalty play with 12 goals scored for a 13.8 percent success rate.

There will be a combined eight players on the ice Friday with their rights owned by NHL teams. For the Wolves, it'll be defenseman Cole Candella (Vancouver) and Luukkonen (Buffalo). Defenseman Reilly Webb (Detroit), Gilmour (Detroit), Wilde (NY Islanders), Jenkins (NY Islanders), Giroux (Minnesota) and Prosvetov (Arizona) will represent Saginaw.

The Spirit won't play at home again until Thursday, November 29, as they finish out the road swing this Sunday, November 25, against the Owen Sound Attack. Puck drop is set for 2:00 p.m. (EST) as Joey Battaino and Dennis Desrosiers will have the call on FM Talk and Sports 100.5 and fmtalk1005.com.

To purchase your tickets for all Saginaw home games, call (989) 497-7747, visit saginawspirit.com or by visiting the Saginaw Spirit Store at 5789 State Street, Saginaw, MI.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Sudbury Community Arena, home of the Sudbury Wolves
Sudbury Community Arena, home of the Sudbury Wolves
   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 23, 2018


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